What’s the Detroit Tigers’ Plan Here?
Have you looked at the Detroit Tigers’ depth chart lately? It’s pretty strange and I’m not sure what to make of it.
The middle infield is a couple of former Pittsburgh Pirates who didn’t exactly bring glory to PNC when they were there. Though I am a big Josh Harrison fan, he’s long lost his luster as a potential Jose Ramirez. He arguably shouldn’t be guaranteed a starter’s spot anymore; not after posting a 92 wRC+ over the last 4 years.
Left field and center field are manned by JaCoby Jones and Christian Stewart. Those two are, not so arguably, not starting caliber outfielders at the Major League level.
The bullpen, beyond closer Shane Greene, who probably isn’t best suited as a closer, is …. not good.
They don’t have a starting caliber catcher.
John Hicks, who will be getting some serious time at first base and at DH, has .5 WAR combined in the past two seasons. He’s also 29 and had a .705 OPS in AAA as a 27 year old.
And yet….
Miguel Cabrera is coming off an awful and injury plagued season, but he’s still a future Hall of Famer and one of the most talented hitters in the sport.
Nick Castellanos is coming off a 3 win season and is a real threat to hit .300 and belt 25 bombs.
Matt Boyd and Michael Fulmer both had rough 2018s but are legitimate MLB starting pitchers. Fulmer was a hot mid-season trade candidate before getting hurt and was an All Star in 2017.
There is talent here. It’s just not consistently spread around the roster. At all.
I actually think that third basemen Jeimer Candelario is a pretty good encapsulation of this team as a whole. He’s a 2 win player, he has a lot of talent, but he’s a .224 hitter and probably better off as a utility infielder than a starting third basemen.
Honestly, I’m not really sure the direction the Tigers are going here. On one hand, they’re starting young, unproven, inexpensive, but talented players at catcher, third, DH, in left and right field, in most of the bullpen, and at the top of their rotation. On the other hand, they’re paying top dollar for their aging first basemen and in the middle of their rotation for Jordan Zimmerman.
It’s clear how they got here- the Tigers spent big on free agents at the start of this decade in an effort to win immediately. They ended up with huge commitments to Cabrera, Zimmerman, Justin Upton, Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, and others. While those guys were very good for a while, the Tigers never got over the hump.
Now, they’ve shed themselves of most of those commitments. Miggy Cabrera, who’s been great when healthy, and Jordan Zimmerman, who was supposed to put the team over the top but instead has been awful in each of his three seasons in Detroit, are the last men standing.
The Tigers seem rudderless. They aren’t a small market team- they have money- and the division is pretty weak outside of the Cleveland Indians, who won the division with just 91 wins last year. But the division is improving pretty quickly- in part thanks to players like Marwin Gonzalez on the Twins. The Tigers could have easily signed guys like Marwin to reasonable deals and improved the team.
I don’t like this Tigers roster. It would be one thing if the young guys were exciting and possibly great. They’re not. It would be another thing if the contracts they were stuck with were utterly debilitating. They’re not.
Instead, the team seems unsure of how much it should commit. They aren’t that bad, but they certainly aren’t good and they seemed destined for about 74 wins and a very boring season.
The best case scenario for Detroit is if Boyd and Fulmer take a major step forward and make themselves valuable trade chips. Think about that. That’s the best case. The team could also consider moving Castellanos as he barrels towards free agency. In fact, he may be among the most coveted hitters on the market come July. A major trade that nets a couple of prospects who are just a year a two could play a major role in getting this team back into contention.
Most of all though, they should spend. There’s no excuse for the Tigers to cry poverty just because Chris Illitch has taken over for the late Mike, who was free wheeling with his cash. There was a lot of talk about a rebuilding process Detroit this winter, but they don’t have to tear things down to the studs. The Tigers are capable of building around the talent they have and supplementing it with free agents. That’s how things would have gone under Mike and, frankly, under circumstances more normal than the last two collusion-y winters in the MLB.
Baseball is better when the Tigers are major players for major players. It’s better when they compete for titles. I understand that the time had come on the last contending team’s window but I really hope the plan in the Motor City isn’t to wallow in mediocrity, raking in the cash.
-Max Frankel
